Site of Rhodes Tavern Marker

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Downtown in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Site of Rhodes Tavern

By Craig Swain, May 22, 2008

1. Site of Rhodes Tavern Marker

Inscription. [First Panel]:
Built in 1799, in the hope that the new capital would become a great city.

Opened as a tavern and inn by William Rhodes, 1801.

Washington's first 'town hall,' where White House architect James Hoban and other citizens met to petition Congress for representation and localy elected government, 1801.

Polling place in first city council election, 1802.

Early boarding house used by Members of Congress, 1807 - 1814.

Spared the torch during the British burning of Washington, 1814.

First home of the Bank of the Metropolis, 1814 - 1836, and of Riggs Bank, 1840 - 1845.

Washington Stock Exchange, 1881 - 1884.

National Press Club, 1909 - 1914; visited by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howared Taft; and Woodrow Wilson.

Witness to every inaugural parade from Thomas Jefferson's in 1805 until Ronald Reagan's in 1981.

Ballot initiative to preserve the building approved by Washington citizens, 1983. Razed, 1984.

This marker placed by the Rhodes Tavern - D.C. Heritage Society, June 7, 1999, with the help of pennies collected by D.C. public school students.

[Second Panel - Caption beneath the bronze relief]:
Site of Washington, D.C.'s first election, June 7, 1801. This marker

By Richard E. Miller, July 13, 2008

2. Site of Rhodes Tavern Marker

placed by the Rhodes Tavern - D.C. Heritage Society, June 7, 1999.

Erected 1999 by Rhodes Tavern - D.C. Heritage Society.

Marker series. This marker is included in the Markers with Artwork marker series.

Location. 38° 53.839′ N, 77° 2.002′ W. Marker is in Downtown, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is at the intersection of F Street, NW and 15th Street, NW, on the right when traveling west on F Street, NW. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20004, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The United States Treasury (within shouting distance of this marker); Webster-Ashburton Treaty (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Alexander Hamilton Memorial (about 400 feet away); The Peace Convention (about 400 feet away); The New Willard (about 500 feet away); Cesar Chavez (about 500 feet away); National Press Club (about 500 feet away); The United States Court of Claims (about 500 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Downtown.

More about this marker. . . . Oliver T. Carr purchased most of the block on which Rhodes Tavern sat in order to redevelop the area. By the time Carr purchased the tavern, it had ceased to resemble its original form, but many architects and historians saw merit in retaining the structure even with these changes because of its importance to the history of the District.

Located less than a block from the White House at 15 and F Sts NW, Carr planned to tear it down to build new offices and retail shops. A seven year protracted legal battle then began between preservationists trying to stop Carr from demolishing the building. An initiative was passed by the citizens of Washington to preserve the building in 1983, but Carr had the building razed one night in 1984. . . .

Extracted from http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2084.xml.

F and 15th Streets, NW Photo, Click for full size

By Richard E. Miller, July 13, 2008

3. F and 15th Streets, NW

Marker panels are visible on the wall at the corner, lower middle left. The U.S. Treasury Building is seen on the opposite side of 15th Street.

Credits. This page originally submitted on July 28, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,602 times since then. Last updated on January 9, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on August 12, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 2, 3. submitted on July 28, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.